Luke 9:44-62

While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples,⁴⁴ “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.” ⁴⁵ But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.

⁴⁶ An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. ⁴⁷ Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. ⁴⁸ Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.”

⁴⁹ “Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.”

⁵⁰ “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”

⁵¹ As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. ⁵² And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; ⁵³but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” ⁵⁵ But Jesus turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶ Then he and his disciples went to another village.

⁵⁷ As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

⁵⁸ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

⁵⁹ He said to another man, “Follow me.”

But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

⁶¹ Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”

⁶²Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

A journey has a beginning, a middle and a destination. In these verses Luke brings us to a critical point in the life of Jesus. There are echoes of what has been told earlier in the narrative. By using repeated words and concepts, Luke helps the reader see important trends and understand key patterns.

At first read, this passage has a lot of action in a very short space. The amazement that ended the previous section (9:43a) continues with the people in awe of Jesus and what he is doing (9:43b). You may have noticed already that wonder, amazement, and praise are familiar responses in Luke’s presentation of the good news of Jesus. They occur as early as the Birth Narrative (1:21, 63, 65-66) and run all the way through to Acts 13:41. I am reminded of an old hymn (Love Divine All Love’s Excelling) that talks about being “lost in wonder, love, and praise¹.” That can happen as we take the time to reflect on our entire journey of faith. The American Bible Society says engagement with Scripture is a game changer for Christ followers. There are so many things that can distract us from fixing our eyes on Jesus (As Luke will soon demonstrate in chapter 10:38–42). We can get so caught up with “the next thing” that we lose sight of Who is with us and what is in front of us. You are to be commended for the sacrifices you have made to go deeper into God’s Word.

Jesus begins by saying, “Listen carefully to what I am about to say to you” (9:44). This is not the first time Luke has reminded us of the importance of listening to the words of Jesus. A few verses back, there was the voice on the mountain, “Listen to him” (9:35). Earlier, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice” (8:21). Still to come, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and do it” (11:28). Luke will also go on to tell us that “all the people hung on his words” (19:48). Luke does not hide the disciple’s failure to listen and the lack of understanding that it causes. Sadly, this will not be the only time this happens to them.

Listening does not seem to come naturally for most us. It is much easier to talk than to listen. Listening takes effort. Sometimes I skim the Bible like I skim my emails. Even when we think, or act as if, we are listening to someone, we are busy preparing our response. Perhaps we should offer up a simple prayer throughout the day: “Lord, make me a better listener, to you, and to those you bring across my path.”

Jesus lets his disciples in on the bad news about what awaits them in Jerusalem. You will remember he has already told them about it (8:21-22). After today’s passage he is going to tell them four more times (13:32-33; 16:31; 17:25; 18:31-34). We know the end of the story. How could they miss the point?

Not getting it creates some major missteps for the disciples. Jesus has to correct them in three straight situations. We know the first part of 2 Timothy 3 about the inspiration of Scripture (3:16a). We tend to forget the second part: that Scripture’s purpose is to rebuke, correct and train us (3:16b). When was the last time you were corrected by the Word of God?

In the first episode, we are not told what triggered the argument about their own greatness. The same topic will reappear later (22:24). Luke’s point seems to be that Jesus knew their hearts (and not just their hearts, see 5:22 and 16:15). Jesus places a child beside him to make his point. Position and posture in the kingdom of God is not about power, control or greatness. In that era children were invisible. They had no status, no power. Jesus flips the script on the disciple’s adoption of societal values. The kingdom of God does not work that way. Without further comment Jesus leaves it with the disciples to think it through. Do our views on power and control need to be tempered by what Jesus does here? Luke needs to remind Jesus’s followers many times of this script flip (7:28; 13:30; 14:11; 16:10, 25; 18:14).

The opposite of welcoming someone is to forbid or cancel them. In this case the disciples saw someone who was not from their group, doing what they had failed to do (remember 9:40): casting out demons. Jesus corrects his disciples with a direct order. They need to broaden their sense of who is in and who is out (again in 11:23). Perhaps we need that command as well given our preferences for like-minded affinity groups.

Luke’s narrative of the first part of Jesus’s ministry (4:1-9:50) includes many miracles and some preaching. The next section (9:51-19:41) will include a lot of teaching and some miracles. Teaching and preaching require “ears to hear” (8:8; 14:35). There is a strong discipleship component to Jesus’s instructions. Brace yourself. It may require some mid-course corrections.

In verse 51 Luke informs us that Jesus resets his journey. His new focus is getting to Jerusalem. Up to now he has been in Galilee. (If you haven’t already, this would be a good time to check out a map in the back of your Bible and get some geographical orientation for where Jesus has been, where he is going, and the routes he could use to get there.)

Jesus is going to take the direct route – right through Samaria. Most Jews from Galilee would take the scenic route around Samaria when going up to Jerusalem for festivals. Jews and Samaritans did not like each other. This wasn’t just about competitive worship practices. Racial tensions were high. Jesus and his little group were on the receiving end of that tension. Talk about making someone unwelcome, “… fire from heaven to destroy them” (9:54)? It seems the disciples had not been paying attention when Jesus talked about loving their enemies (6:35-37). Jesus corrects them with a sharp look and a rebuke (9:55).

Three individuals step up to follow Jesus: two volunteer, one is called. It reads as though Jesus is making it difficult for them to follow him. Imagine your pastor not falling all over people who want to become church members? Imagine someone comes up to you and says, “I want to become a follower of Jesus.” And you say, “Well just a minute friend.” Discipleship is costly. To one person Jesus says, “If you are going to follow me, get used to housing insecurity.” To the other two he says, “You need to love me above everything and everyone else.” Check out 14:25-26 for an even more severe echo of this.

Discipleship means you and I are learners/students/trainees of Jesus. It is not an easy road. We like the resurrection parts, but we skim over the suffering aspect. Jesus is not shy about telling us about the road of suffering (8:21-22; 9:44; 13:32-33; 16:31; 17:25; 18:31-34). Nor is he shy reminding us that we have a cross to bear daily (9:23 and 14:27). Sometimes I think we forget the suffering part of following Jesus. We prefer to accentuate the positive. That is only part of the journey.

This morning in church we sang these words,

“That You would take my place, that You would bear my cross.

You laid down Your life, that I would be set free.”

The disciples continually fail to understand what Jesus says about the suffering that will happen in Jerusalem and the hardships and struggle that await them as his followers. It is a road marked with suffering. In his second volume, Luke is going to include these words of Paul, “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). Could this passage be a turning point for us as followers of Jesus?

Larry Hurst, a pastor in the Midwest District of the Alliance since 2001. This has included Living Hope Alliance (Regina) and Transition Pastor roles with the Alliance in Kindersley, Estevan, and Swift Current. He currently resides in Regina, with his wife Sharon.

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